34
Even "dry" concrete contains considerable water, and is a relatively good conductor. So, it's a relatively good path to ground for a person touching it, increasing the odds of a lethal shock.
Generally, for something to make it into the electrical code, some number of people have probably died due to the lack of it before that happened.
33
When or is it NEC code compliant to upgrade a 2-wire circuit, by adding a third prong equipment ground from a nearby galvanized cold water pipe?
Never!
Article 250.118 of the National Electrical Code lists the approved methods of equipment grounding. Water piping systems are NOT listed there.
Metal piping systems within buildings are required to be bonded ...
17
There is one safety issue here
It appears that the original installer took the ground wire from the 12/3 cable, looped it around one switch ground screw, then attached it to the other switch ground screw. This grounds the switch yokes fine, but leaves the (metal) box ungrounded save through screw threads. The solution to this is to cut off the existing ...
17
The NEC doesn't count a receptacle above 5-1/2' to satisfy the requirement -
210.52(4) Located more than 1.7 m (51⁄2 ft) above the floor
The NEC doesn't have a lower limit for height, in fact 210.52(A)(3) allows floor receptacles within 18" of the wall to satisfy the requirement.
(3) Floor Receptacles. Receptacle outlets in floors shall
not be ...
14
You don't need GFCI receptacles anywhere. Nobody cares how you provision the GFCI protection. You are welcome to have one GFCI device and feed all the receptacles from the protected zone (LOAD) of that GFCI device. You should take the time to learn exactly how downline protection works, and then, put LOAD to good use! That will greatly reduce the cost of ...
answered Feb 27 at 2:40
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Enclosure
You start with an enclosure that includes a backplate (interior panel) -- usually this is purchased separately from the enclosure itself, but the manufacturers make sizes that fit mounting holes in their enclosure.
Enclosures come in many sizes, different materials, different NEMA ratings, different cover options (screw-on/hinged, handles, ...
10
It's mandatory
When putting identical-appearing circuits in a conduit, you must differentiate them somehow. It's mandatory.
I would not bundle them but mark them individually. Black(blue) and White(blue) for instance being the obvious pair. Bonus points: use a decent length (2") of shrinkwrap so the tape doesn't come off someday.
The reason I don't ...
answered Mar 30 '18 at 20:52
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Why 20A? Receptacle design constraints, most likely
The reason why general receptacle circuits top out at 20A is because the notion of a duplex receptacle doesn't work for larger plug sizes (just can't fit enough meat in there at a suitable spacing for it to work), nor does the idea of a "shared" receptacle (T-slot) that can accept 15A or 20A plugs, as well ...
10
Derailed by Derating
Your plan is a non-starter, even if you overcome the fill issues you're having, because of the other limit the NEC places on conduit fill; namely, the derating factors found in 310.15(B)(3)(a) that limit ampacity based on the number of current-carrying conductors. The first two rows of the table are normally not an issue because nobody ...
9
We're reading tea leaves here to guess at NFPA's intent. NFPA writes the "model electrical code" which they offer for anyone in the world to adopt as their law.
But politically, NFPA has been having a big problem. Normally NEC changes are fairly trivial in cost: Pull a neutral wire on switch loops, gosh, you're using the /3 Romex instead of the /2. It'...
answered Jan 24 at 20:48
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9
I see two options. What I see in the US quite a bit is instead of running the plastic channels on the wall surface, people will use steel conduit. It gives kind of a rustic/industrial look. Receptacles would then be mounted in steel boxes on the wall surface as well.
What is typical in Germany, where most walls are block and plaster, is that grooves are cut ...
9
Nope. Nope nope nope.
You cannot use 210.12(A)(4) to put AFCI at an outlet.
There are certain fairly rare cases where you can put AFCI at the first outlet.
However, there is a misconception that has turned into a regular "old wives' tale", that one can skip the expensive AFCI breaker and just slap an ACFI recep at the first outlet. Oh no you can't!
...
answered Mar 25 at 9:02
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They are intended to be mounted outside the box...
You are correct that they are intended to be mounted to a KO (usually on the breaker box), instead of being left inside, all flop-a-dop, as yours was. You can use this unit still, although you will probably want to leave some space around it, as its further lifespan is unknown. (All MOV-based suppressors ...
9
No philosophy: Code is data-driven
Code is the result of analysis of systematically collected data about actual electrical accidents as they happened in the field. It’s the nature of science that you must take the field data as it comes, and not try to force it to conform to some notion of what it should be.
In the case of 15/20A, the data has shown that ...
answered Jul 13 at 16:52
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8
Be sure you use a 30A double-pole breaker to adequately protect your wiring. Make sure you provide an equipment ground and use a NEMA 14-30 receptacle.
The box can be metal or plastic. Some form of cable clamp is always required, it's just that most plastic boxes have an integrated clamp (that finger-trap style door).
If using NM cable, The cable must be ...
8
NEC 300.4(D) covers the type of installation indicated in the question, and it applies to both AC and MC armored cable. So you'll need to use a steel guard at least 1/16" thick to protect the cable.
This tip from Fine Homebuilding illustrates this type of installation. Rather than backing the molding with steel plating, they use a U-shaped channel to ...
8
Too many circuits per pipe
All this is about the derating rules in 310.15(B)(3)(a), see ThreePhaseEel's answer.
When I first saw your other question, I thought "Oh boy, I smell a too-many-circuits problem coming". I thought I should warn you to run multiple conduit, but I didn't mention it because it was out of scope.
Now, if you were strictly working ...
answered Jul 4 '19 at 16:41
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8
That is fine. The Electrical Code is silent on the issue, except for NEC 110.3B, which requires you to obey the unit's labeling and instructions. So if they do not disallow painting the panel, then have fun.
Do not cover up any labeling or numbering, and do not paint the breakers themselves.
If you have a panel with no door, and you don't want to be ...
answered Jul 25 '19 at 15:02
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8
NEC doesn't require AFCI because it does require GFCI, and they are not the same. GFCI outlets protect against electrical shock and this is very important around water.
AFCI protects against electrical arcs that come from damaged cords and bad connections. Arcing is super hot, and is responsible for electrical fires.
A combination protection device could ...
8
Not sure where you got the idea that you need THWN-2, only.
All you need is the W.
TWN, THWN, RHW, XHW, XHHW, etc. are all perfectly fine, because they have the W that means they are waterproof, that means they can go in outdoor conduit. Most THHN is also THWN and MTW (multiply rated.)
If you are in a situation where the wire temperature may be extreme you ...
8
THWN is rated for wet locations
As Ecnerwal discusses.
The issue is thermal
The difference is at the top of Table 310.15(B)(16).
THWN is allowed 75 degree C running temperature.
THWN-2 is allowed 90 degrees C.
THHN also is allowed 90 C
Southwire is making a disclaimer: they are saying they don’t guarantee #14-10 will be THWN-2. What’s on their mind is a ...
answered Jul 12 at 16:00
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8
The code book alone is pretty hard to understand, it's 900 pages and all written in legalese. The handbook is useful, it adds some non-legalese clarification to the NEC itself. Mike Holt's materials are great, they are made to make sense of the legalese, and they're popular for a reason.
However none of the above are in any way a design guide or an ...
7
This answer is mostly based on the United States electrical system, and the answer may vary depending on where you are.
The NEC code specifies that a solid copper wire used to connect to a ground rod must be at least either #6 or #8 gauge (depending on the size of your electrical service cable). #6 cable cable will always satisfy the sizing requirement, ...
7
The supply circuit breaker has to protect not just the cables in the wall, but also the flexible cords to the appliances.
If you had 50A circuit breakers, the appliance cords would have to be rated to carry the higher fault current in the event of a short-circuit. The fault current would be several times 50A, but usually for a short time, depending on the ...
7
From the floor to 5½'
The answer to your question is 5½', as per NEC 210.52 point 4:
210.52 Dwelling Unit Receptacle Outlets. This section
provides requirements for 125-volt, 15- and 20-ampere receptacle outlets. The receptacles required by this section shall be in
addition to any receptacle that is:
(1) Part of a luminaire or ...
7
All grounds count 1. (per @ThreePhaseEel's comment, more than 4 are now 1/4 count each as of NEC2020)
One yoke device (the outlet) is 2
6 wires terminating in the box are 6
If there are cable clamps in the box, those count as 1. If they are outside the box, they don't count.
14Ga so 2 cubic inches per count.
So: 18 or 20 cubic inches. Pigtails (wires that ...
7
You're not allowed to supply NEMA 5-20R receptacles with a 50A circuit breaker. That is dangerous!
I suggest an additional penetration for the new receptacles, which should be put on a 20A breaker(s). You probably don't want to stuff additional wire into the conduit that already has the RV circuit going through it.
If you don't think you'll use both the RV ...
7
Browsable = No.
I prefer paper books when there's a likelihood of being able to stumble across interesting things by luck or accident. Open it to a page, read what's there, wow, that might be useful, or didn't know that.
NEC is utterly opaque in that manner. If you open to a random page you will find a bunch of gobbledygook. Even if you understand it, it'...
answered Oct 15 at 18:18
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6
The NEC simply states "where supplied through a ground-fault circuit interrupter" in this instance, so you can achieve this either by a GFI receptacle, a faceless GFI device, or a GFI breaker.
You cannot however use an AFCI breaker, unless it is one of the new (and rare) AFCI/GFCI breakers. Good luck finding one though. I find one Siemens on Amazon and that'...
6
You can run cables across and under the joists. If you do though you must install them on running boards for protection. Typically it is just easier to drill.
National Electrical Code 2011
Chapter 3 Wiring Methods and Materials
Article 334 Nonmetallic-Sheathed Cable: Types NM, NMC, and NMS
II. Installation
334.15 Exposed Work.
(C) In Unfinished Basements ...
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